Monday, February 6, 2012

THE SOLE OF MR. ROCKEFELLER

A few years ago, (way before my blogging days) my boss brought my to a restaurant at Greenbelt for a meeting, called "Rockefeller". The place featured oysters and ribs, among many other things. I don't recall what dish I ordered that day, meaning it wasn't very memorable to me. But what did ingrain into my psychosis for years to come was the dish that my boss ordered: The Alaskan Sole Fillet with Garlic Noodles.

Early last year, I thought they had closed up shop already, because I saw the doors being boarded up. Thankfully, I saw from my friends at En Route that they actually just did a little renovation (and I suspect, new management).

A couple of weeks ago, Rina took me to work so she could run some errands as well, so I decided to invite her to lunch at Greenbelt, together lunch buddies, My Giant Joel and the Lovely Donna. I hadn't visited the place in over a year, so I was ready to be reunited with my Sole Filet.

The renovations seemed to open up the place a little bit. The interiors, however were beautifully crafted and still had the mobster movie feel of the old structure, but just not as confined as it once was. The lighting was still a bit gloomy for me, and the place still gave a bit more of a stiff feel.

THE FOOD

Though more often than not, my trusty Galaxy S2 is usually more than enough to suffice, the dim lighting at Mr. Rockefeller made the pictures a little anemic at times, so please forgive me.

STARTERS

As expected, Rina ordered the Cheese Puffs (P90 for 8 pcs). Lightly coated with cubes filled with rich cheese - Yup that's got "Rina" written all over it. I'm glad she got it though, because it was actually really quite tasty, without being too heavy. A good choice to start the meal.

Since we were at a restaurant that specializes in Oysters, Rina felt it would be remiss of us not to try it. I wouldn't be the Pickiest Eater in The World if I willingly ate a dish that looked like a giant booger, right? So as you can imagine, I ordered the dish for her, but passed on tasting it myself,choosing to focus on the Cheese Puffs instead.

She enjoyed the oysters' freshness and naturally, the baked cheese.

ENTREES

MEAT

Joel ordered the Boneless Spareribs, something that I had contemplated ordering (Apart from the Sole Fillet). Joel let me taste a bit of it, and though the meat was tender enough, the flavor was nothing really special. It had a sweet BBQ sauce that wouldn't set this dish apart from any other run of the mill restaurant.

I ordered Lamb BBQ for Rina and I to share. Thin strips of delicious lamb grilled just right so that its natural flavors shine. In lieu of mint Jelly, it had a thin mint sauce that complimented the smokiness of the lightly charred lamb meat. It also came with a buttery rice pilaf.

SEAFOOD

I have yet to try their other meat dishes or even their burgers, but to me, it's Mr. Rockefeller's Seafood that stands tall in their menu.

Once Rina saw Gambas Risotto on the menu, she started missing the taste of the one she had at Chelsea Market, and had hoped that this came close to it. Well, she finished all the shrimp on her own, but she was kind enough to leave me some risotto to try (i'm kidding, I don't eat shrimp). Though it isn't to the level of Chelsea just yet, the risotto was quite creamy and cheesy. The light acid on roasted peppers offered a wonderful breaker to the richness of the cheese.

Joel also ordered the Fish & Chips, after seeing the waiter bring it out for another table earlier. With its sheer size, it looked like a little battleship, so it immediately caught our attention. It had a nice coating of breadcrumbs, that would reveal a beautifully cooked white fish. Although I do believe they would have benefited from using a slightly thinner fillet, because the chunkiness of the fish would help the dish lose it's crispiness. (It was just pretty much the ends were that were the crispiest parts)

Oh and another thing, I absolutely loved their french fries! It was deliciously crispy, and had a unique texture to it. I was contemplating ordering a side order for fear of me picking them off from Joel's plate one by one before he even got a chance to try it.

Donna ordered the Baked White Fish.. and then I found yet ANOTHER fish dish from Mr. Rockefeller that blew my mind. The harmony of the fish, cheese and butter baked to perfection. The fish just virtually melted in your mouth. The flavorful rice it came with was also a nice touch to the dish, and added a bit of acid so the creaminess doesn't overwhelm you.

This might not have been as phenomenal as the one I had at Cookbook Kitchen last year, but it does come quite close.

Finally I was once again reunited with the Alaskan Sole Fillet. There was something slightly different with the consistency of the sauce from the last time I tried it. Even flavor-wise, the sauce was a bit more "citrusy" than I remembered. But it doesn't mean the dish still didn't kick ass the way it used to. The Sole fillet was cooked immaculately, and the sauce had a zesty, yet creamy flavor to it that just immersed the fish into awesomeness.

The garlic noodles are amazing. I'm so glad they offer it in the menu as a stand alone order, because if they didn't I was gonna write to Mr. Rockefeller himself and suggest it. The light kick of garlic offered a wonderful counter-punch to the richness of the sauce, and it worked together just perfectly.

A meal with Joel isn't complete without some form of dessert, and he ended up ordering this rich chocolate cake.Chocolate lovers will love this, because it was chocolate upon chocolate upon chocolate. It was decadent and moist with a deep choco flavor. To me it was average, but that's mainly because i'm used to the awesomeness of Oz Cakes, so my standards for cakes are pretty high.

Among all the valuable lessons my boss has ever taught me, I would have to say that this is one of the ones that stuck with me the most (I'm sure he won't be happy to hear that). The next time I go, I'll probably give their burger or ribs a whirl!

Their WiFi is surprisingly fast. There was one time that some guy was playing World of Warcraft and my internet browsing experience wasn't sacrificed a bit.

I think the waiters here already know me as Mr. San Miguel Super Dry. There was a time I returned after a long respite, and the very first thing the waiter said when I sat down "Sir, yung usual Super Dry?"

I remember Joey from the TV Series Friends calling oysters a giant booger as well... but I disagree! :P Besides, I think the taste makes us for it! Hehe. I've never eaten in this place, but I think I would opt for the Alaskan Sole Fillet. :)

The Sole Fillet and the garlic noodles look and sound so tempting! I would definitely get that too, as well as some baked oysters.. Yum! <3 Btw, I learned a new adjective for photos from you today.. Anemic.. :D

I'll be waiting for that food photography by your wife! Does she have a food blog too so that I can add it on my list? I wish my wife could take good photos too and support me so that I could start a blog of my own. But most of the time, she's just busy counting calories and stopping me from eating! It's sad.

haha but she only does that cuz she really cares.. my wife couldn't stop me if she tried hehe

Actually, most of the photography of THIS blog is by her.. except when I go off on my own when i'm at work.. this post in particular was done by me, hence the sub-par quality.. but the P.F. Chang's and Makanmakan entries, the photography was done by her..